The essence of summer in a sweet, creamy scoop

Faye Yang, America's Test Kitchen on May 22, 2024

2 tablespoons vodka

1. Combine peaches, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, and salt in a bowl; let sit until about 1/2 cup liquid accumulates in the bowl and peaches soften slightly, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain peaches in a fine-mesh strainer set over a second bowl; reserve liquid.

2. Process drained peaches in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer 1/2 cup peach puree to a small saucepan; reserve remaining puree. Add 1/2 cup sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice to a saucepan and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring and scraping bottom of saucepan constantly with rubber spatula, until mixture turns deep orange color, becomes translucent, and registers 220 degrees, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer cooked peach mixture to bowl; let cool slightly, then refrigerate until needed.

3. Bring reserved drained peach liquid to simmer in the now-empty saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until liquid is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Transfer syrup to a large bowl. Add half-and-half, sour cream, corn syrup, vodka, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, and remaining reserved uncooked peach puree and whisk until smooth, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate ice cream base until temperature registers 40 degrees, about 4 hours. (Chilled mixture can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

4. Transfer ice cream base to ice cream maker and churn until mixture resembles thick soft-serve ice cream, 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Spread one-third of ice cream in an even layer in 8.5-by-4.5-inch loaf pan. Drizzle one-third of reserved cooked peach mixture evenly over ice cream. Repeat 2 more times with remaining ice cream and peach mixture. Drag skewer through ice cream (in rough zigzag and circular patterns all the way to bottom of pan) to create swirls. Freeze ice cream until firm, at least 2 hours. Serve.

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